The SEMA-Approved Durango Shaker Could Make Production

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Please, please make this happen.

Mopar brought six pretty awesome cars to Las Vegas for SEMA 2016. The Dodge Shakedown Challenger was easily one of the most badass vehicles in Vegas. The Durango Shaker was another standout from the Mopar group. Many SEMA concepts are outlandish to the point of being ridiculous, but some do make production. According to The Detroit News, production of the Durango Shaker is being considered. This news comes straight from Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis, who said that such an idea was “never a consideration” before SEMA.

“Because of the reaction, we have decided that we should look at it,” Kuniskis told his hometown paper. Bringing the custom car to life is easier said than done, though. The Durango Shaker is much more than just a cool air intake jutting through a hood. Under the hood is a 6.4-liter HEMI V8. Six-piston SRT brakes and rotors help keep that newfound power—the largest engine the Durango currently offers is a 5.7-liter HEMI V8—in check. In the back Mopar installed a chrome cat-back dual-exhaust. Then there’s the new look. The grille was redesigned to prioritize airflow, there’s a Jay Leno-sized chin splitter, satin black 22-inch Mopar wheels and a custom lowering kit, which drops the SUV three inches.

Then there are the Viper seats (all three tows) and the flat-bottom steering wheel stolen from a Charger SRT. Obviously not all of that would make production. Those Viper seats would be axed. That exhaust would most likely be cut as well, same for that chin splitter. Still, a Durango with a 6.4-liter HEMI V8, beefier brakes and that awesome Shaker hood sounds like a good deal to us. That’s exactly the problem Tim Kuniskis is mulling over, the fact that gearheads would jump for joy over this SUV while regular consumers wouldn’t see the appeal. “I worry about demand because SEMA attracts attention of a totally different buyer. So something that gets great attention at SEMA doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a success in the general marketplace,” Kuniskis said.

Look, no one is asking Dodge to drop a Hellcat engine in the Durango…at least not yet. A Durango Shaker probably wouldn’t change the world with its sales but it would help cement the brand’s image as a brash and all-American maker of muscle cars and manly SUVs. Dodge has basically given up on doing everything else (RIP Dart and Caravan) so why not go all in on muscle? Photos courtesy of Redline, the official Dodge blog.